Today's picks for civic nerds.

Historian Patrick Allitt will be at Town Hall tonight to talk about how global warming is reshaping humanity, as detailed in his book A Climate of Crisis: America in the Age of Environmentalism.

The book tracks American environmentalism back to the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act and examines the escalation of political rhetoric about the environmental changes that could result from global warming.

Human impact on the environment, Allitt argues, is not the main issue. Rather, the most important and interesting aspect of climate change is the impact the debate itself has had on humanity.

Change is coming to the Seattle waterfront, and the groups behind the effort to revamp the area into a public promenade replete with parks, plazas, and a fresh batch of piers are looking for your input.

Attend the panel—featuring city planning director Marshall Foster, Central Waterfront Committee co-chair Maggie Walker, and Ivar's President Bob Donegan, among others—to learn more about what your future waterfront will look like—and let the city know what you'd like to seeonline .

Author Doug Fine wants to talk about more than just legal marijuana use—he wants to talk about the possibilities of hemp.

Coming from the same plant as marijuana, hemp has the potential to be the "next cash crop," Fine argues. His latest book, Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, speculates that hemp could be the next big thing in alternative fuel, farming, and more.

The Seattle City Council is looking for input on its 2015-16 spending priorities, and will be coming out into the community to hear directly from city residents.

Each workshop will be focused on specific departments, and will begin with a short presentation from the city's budget office followed by small-group breakout sessions with council members and city staff.